Hearing Colleagues Research Articles

Development of a Framework of Reference for Sign Languages and Reference Level Descriptors for Czech Sign Language

The CEFR is a well-known, useful, and widely exploited tool used for many European languages, as well as in some non- European language contexts. Most of the contexts where the CEFR is used concern spoken languages. However, regarding sign languages, there have only been a few attempts to explore how the CEFR might be adapted and modified. In 2019, a CEFR-related project started in the Czech Republic (as one of five key activities of a bigger project – called APIV A – that concerned inclusion of users of first languages other than Czech) with the original aim of adapting the outcomes of the ProSign project1 led by The European Centre for Modern Languages, which basically meant creating proficiency scales for the description of Czech Sign Language. However, it became clear that a mere translation or a slight adaptation is neither possible nor appropriate. Therefore, the project became much broader, and, in the end, two original comprehensive and interrelated documents were developed: a general Framework of Reference for Sign Languages and a more specific Reference Level Descriptors of Czech Sign Language. Both documents are bilingual: in written Czech and translated into Czech Sign Language. Three main topics are discussed in this article. Firstly, the content and the processes by which these two documents were planned and published are described. The rationale for their development is presented, and the approaches, including blind alleys, doubts and their solutions discussed. Secondly, challenges faced by the writing team are presented, for instance the collaboration of Deaf and hearing colleagues, the collaboration of hearing linguists with Czech Sign Language teachers with no linguistic background, terminological issues, given that sign languages in general, and the Czech sign language specifically, are so-called less-taught languages. Finally, problems and challenges related to the features of the Czech deaf community, such as the specificity of culture, language modalities, the absence of standardisation, research, and the lack of recognition of the language as a fully-fledged code, are presented.

Advocating for specialized STEM interpreters for Deaf scientists.

Majocha in the laboratory, doing an experiment under the hood.

Entangled Interdependence: Sign Language Interpreting without Recognition in India and Vietnam

AbstractDisabled people have achieved more legal recognition from nation‐states and societies because of advocacy and institutional efforts such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is a starting, not an end, point: How does legal recognition trickle down (or not) or become distributed to those who work with disabled people? This article examines this question by ethnographically attending to the experiences of two sign language interpreters in Bangalore, India, and in Hà Nội, Vietnam. While both countries recognize deaf peoples’ rights, there is limited institutional or financial recognition of interpreters. Interpreters’ daily lives and individual projects of recognition are shaped by broader socio‐political contexts. The article argues that in the absence of legal recognition, recognition is an interpersonal process that is both produced by and produces forms of relationship and responsibility. How do interpreters seek and receive recognition from the state as well as deaf people, hearing colleagues, and society at large? Attending to recognition projects highlights how deaf people and interpreters are bound together in mutual systems of precarious interdependence. Recognition is negotiated across multiple scales and influences individuals’ life projects and livelihoods. [recognition, disability, deafness, sign language, interpreting]

A inclusão de estudantes surdos no ensino superior brasileiro: O caso de um curso de Pedagogia

O objetivo desta pesquisa é compreender o processo de inclusão dos estudantes surdos no curso de graduação em Pedagogia, no ensino superior brasileiro. Para atingir este objetivo, foi utilizada a entrevista semidiretiva a três estudantes surdos e a observação das aulas de três professores destes alunos. É uma investigação qualitativa, de natureza descritiva/interpretativa, que analisa os sujeitos no seu contexto e valoriza a interação que se estabelece entre eles. Verificou-se, através das percepções destes estudantes, que compreendem o paradigma da inclusão, conhecem os documentos orientadores, entendem e concordam com os princípios e as práticas que são propostas, mas levantam algumas questões e afirmam preferir as salas especiais para a aprendizagem. Observou-se que os estudantes surdos participam das aulas, dos trabalhos de grupo, procuram estar junto ao intérprete, para melhor compreenderem, procuram a interação com professores e colegas ouvintes; porém, o desconhecimento da língua de sinais (LIBRAS), por parte dos ouvintes, é uma das maiores barreiras para a inclusão. Estes estudantes gostam da perspetiva da inclusão, no que diz respeito a socializar com os ouvintes, e procuram contribuir para que essa socialização e a aprendizagem aconteçam, utilizando alternativas à LIBRAS para a comunicação.Constatam, porém, que é preciso um esforço coletivo, de surdos e ouvintes, para que o respeito pela diferença e pela identidade e cultura surda tenham maior expressão no contexto escolar. 
 Palavras-chave: Ensino superior; Estudante surdo; Inclusão; Brasil

Coping With Perceived Abusive Supervision: The Role of Paranoia

Two studies (a cross-sectional survey of 90 U.K. workers and an experiment with 100 U.K. workers) examined the cognitive and behavioral effects of abusive supervision. Both studies confirmed the hypothesis that workers who experience abusive supervision show paranoia and that makes them more prone to a type of cognitive error called the “sinister attribution error.” This is where workers misattribute innocent workplace events such as tripping over something or hearing colleagues laughing to malevolent motives such as wanting to harm or mock them. Study 1 also showed that abusive supervision is associated with lower well-being. Perceived organizational support buffers these effects, and this is associated with workers making fewer sinister attribution errors, thereby protecting well-being. Study 2 explored the role of contextual cues by exposing workers to images of abusive supervision. This increased their paranoia and contributed to workers making sinister attribution errors when they were asked to interpret workplace events. Moreover, depending on the types of contextual cues, workers were more likely to express the intention of workplace deviance after thinking about past experiences of abusive supervision. We recommend that corporate ethical responsibilities include training managers and workers about the negative cognitive and mental health effects of abusive supervision.

Everyone here speaks TXT: deaf people using SMS in Australia and the rest of the world.

This article examines the extent to which Short Message Service (SMS) messages are breaking down communication barriers among deaf people and between deaf and hearing people. It is predicted that deaf texters will use SMS to increase the bonds between themselves in deaf communities, creating new opportunities to develop relationships, understanding, and intimacy with those not physically present. The most exciting question raised by this article is whether those kinds of relationships, understanding, and intimacy will develop to the same extent with hearing colleagues, friends, and intimates.

How I Arrived on the Web: A History Teacher's Tale

FOR HISTORY TEACHERS, the Web seems ubiquitous these days. Many of us are completely accustomed to drawing on Web-based resources, constructing our own Web materials, engaging in various kinds of distance learning activities, and (even if we aren't doing these things ourselves) hearing colleagues talk about it whether or not we want to listen. It wasn't always this way, of course. My own journey toward the new technologies has accelerated quickly in the past couple of years. The amount of time I spend either working or teaching on the Web is astonishing to me. It's time to reflect on how I got here. I suspect that many readers of this journal will recognize aspects of their own stories in mine. In 1994, I was working at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, an institution with a strong technological focus. One benefit of this was having a networked computer installed in my office somewhat earlier than most historians. It was a memorable moment; all at once, my desktop computer became something more than a glorified typewriter. The new technology propelled me into bewildering tasks: figuring out email protocols, learning a few simple Unix commands and, most vividly, understanding that thousands of computers all over the world, containing vast stores of information, were now connected to the machine on my desk. It was all text back then-screen after screen of words from libraries, universities, and government agencies. I accessed them through

Memory span for Arabic numerals and digit words in Japanese kanji in deaf signers

According to the theory of working memory, the “phonological loop” is a slave system that stores a limited number of sounds for a short period of time. The question of how this system works for deaf people reading a logographic script, kanji, was investigated. We measured the memory span of a sample of Japanese hearing and deaf participants. Hearing subjects were tested in Japanese and deaf subjects in sign language. Memory span was assessed in control and articulatory suppression conditions. In the control condition, subjects were required to recall various item sequences as quickly and accurately as possible. In the articulatory suppression condition, the hearing subjects articulated the phrase no‐no, and the deaf subjects expressed a pseudosign, while viewing the stimuli. Results showed that the memory span of the deaf for Japanese kanji was similar to that of their hearing peers. This finding conflicts with previous research which suggested that for users of English, the deaf display consistently shorter memory spans than do their hearing counterparts. In addition, we discovered that in contrast to their hearing colleagues, the deaf Japanese subjects were relatively immune to expected articulatory suppression effects. This finding raises the possibility that working memory coding processes are not universal.

On creating a workable signing environment: deaf and hearing perspectives.

This article studies teams of service providers in education and psychiatric services, in which a substantial number of both deaf and hearing people work together as colleagues. It focuses specifically on the challenges involved in cooperatively creating a signing work environment. Using a methodology that draws on the principles of ethnography, it identifies and explores the meaning constructions associated with signing at work, from deaf and hearing perspectives. Data were collected through interviews in three organizations all in the United Kingdom: two specialist psychiatric units for deaf adults and a school for deaf children. Forty-one informants participated (20 deaf, 21 hearing). Results show that from a deaf perspective, hearing people's use of sign language in their presence at work is closely associated with demonstrating personal respect, value, and confidence, and hearing colleagues' willingness to sign is more significant than their fluency. From a hearing perspective, results demonstrate that sign language use at work is closely associated with change, pressure, and the questioning of professional competence. The challenges involved in improving deaf/hearing relations are perceived from a deaf perspective as largely person-centered, and from a hearing perspective as primarily language-centered. The significance of organizational factors such as imbalances in power and status between deaf and hearing colleagues is explored in relation to the findings.

Counselling in order to develop tolerance between hearing people and deaf people in bicultural working groups

When hearing people and deaf people work together, two languages and two cultures come into contract. The purpose of this study is to describe some necessary prerequisites for social interaction in bicultural groups between hearing people and deaf people working together. The method used was one in-depth interview. The result indicated the need for counselling on an individual level as well as on a group level. On an individual level the motivation for contract and positive attitudes toward on another were most frequently reported. On the group level the ability to collaborate and hearing colleagues' competence in sign-language were most frequently reported. A combined counselling and guidance model was suggested on both levels. Furthermore, regarding the working group, group therapeutic approaches were also needed. Counsellors proficient in sign-language were suggested.

A comparison of deaf and hearing teacher effectiveness.

In this study the effectiveness of deaf and hearing teachers of deaf students was compared using both an observational instrument and student ratings. The results of the study indicate that based on hearing status there is no difference in teaching effectiveness when measured on an observational instrument. Student ratings indicated that deaf teachers were better than their hearing colleagues. These results represent an initial effort in this area of study. The results are contrasted against two trends in the area of deaf education. The first trend is the failure rate of deaf teaching candidates on teacher examinations. The second trend is the difference in the deaf teacher hire rate of day and residential programs.